Stribling The Stripling

The most notable development from Michigan's summer camp was of course the offer to and commitment from NC CB Channing Stribling. The Hello post was pretty light on scouting content because there wasn't any before Michigan's camp kicked off. Let me try to fill in a couple of holes. First, Maize and Blue News has a bit on Stribling's post-offer activities:

In more than 10 years of attending the Michigan summer camp, Channing Stribling pulled something today that we don't remember seeing before. A rarity at the very least. In the past, the rule of thumb was that if a player earned a scholarship offer at the camp, they were done. Whether they committed or not, it was sort of a “mission accomplished” type of event and the player would either head home or stick around to watch without competing. Not so with Stribling.

The young defensive back pledged to the Wolverines this morning, then went out and kept working to improve his game. He continued to attentively go through drills and was even running full speed demonstrating the wide receiver position for other campers, where many are often inclined to take it easy. In the sweltering 90 degree temperatures he had to endure, it speaks well of the work ethic of the Wolverines’ latest commitment.

“One of things that made him attracted to them is his size. I think he might grow another inch. Long arms. He controls his body very well. You see a lot of kids in high school that size, they have a tough time managing where everything is going, but Channing does a great job with body control.”

He is declared the "epitome of an athlete." Coincidentally, that is the working title of Charlie Weis's soon-to-be-published memoirs.

“I think the first day after we did drills and we did Air Force ball [ed: must be a drill] and I started doing little moves,” he explained to GoBlueWolverine, “and they asked me what my name was—and I told them I was Channing Stribling, and they started looking at me more the next few days." …

“It was the next day, that next night after Air Force ball, that they asked me to go meet the defensive coordinator. And I met him and he said he’s going to look at me the next few days,” said Stribling.

Unfortunately paywalled, but if you've got the subscription check it out.

Stribling's commitment may have yoinked a scholarship offer from 2013 OH CB Aregeros Turner, whoimpressed($) but did not leave camp with an offer. Despite having offers from Washington, Tennessee, and Illinois he still told 247 Michigan was "probably like my top school or at least top two right now." In the event of a DB decommit (not likely) or an open slot he may be a guy to keep an eye on.

2014 Caremeter: further incremented

In non-Stribling news, Michigan offered a handful of 2014 kids. Most prominent amongst them is MI WR Drake Harris, a dual-sport star with a Michigan State offer in basketball but possibly a higher ceiling in football. Sam Webb's News article this week is on Harris:

"(Brady) Hoke sat down with us and was reiterating again how much he liked Drake," said Harris' father, Mike. "It was nice. He definitely made Drake feel like they really want him. It was fun for him. We had a good time down there. Hoke is straight up and real, and I like guys like that. He let me know what he thought and I like that. It was definitely a great feel."

Cass Tech CB Damon Webb would have been amongst them if Michigan hadn't fired one off a week earlier after seeing him at the SMSB camp. He impressed again. Pargoff:

Rising junior Damon Webb of Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech continued to live up to the hype, showing up for the afternoon session and performing exceptionally well. He breaks and closes so quickly and attacks the ball in the air that there were times it appeared quarterbacks had mistaken him for their primary target. As we noted after the Sound Mind Sound Body Camp, he is easily a top-100 prospect for 2014.

The rest of these guys are just names at this juncture. We can try to fix that. Webb on Nicholson:

This ball-hawking safety had to be the leader in interceptions during his time on campus Tuesday. He showed great range and made quarterbacks pay for any passes they hung in the air.

At 6-3 and 200 pounds, Nicholson is big enough to play strong safety, but his exceptional leaping ability and ball skills make him tailor-made to roam the field at free. The surprising thing about this talented youngster is his camp performance was below his own standards.

That begs the question — if he earns a Michigan scholarship on one of his "off days," how good is he when he's on?

For his part, Holmes tweeted out a "mission accomplished" after landing his offer. He then told 247 Michigan had the "early edge($)" with him:

“The offer just kind of gave me butterflies because I have always been a big Michigan fan,” said Holmes. “It was my goal to earn an offer there and I’m really glad I could accomplish it. Michigan is definitely my top school right now.”

He wants to get his commitment out of the way before his senior season, which still gives him a full year to come to a decision. Pargoff:

Corey Holmes continued to display excellent speed, quickness and athleticism as he did yesterday, but his performance late in the morning session was marred by dropped passes. He definitely has all of the athletic ability needed to earn a scholarship offer from the Wolverines, but he needs to become more consistent with his hands.

He goes to St. Thomas Aquinas, a school Michigan has recruited frequently over the last decade or so. They've had little success when it comes to actually securing Aquinas kids but that's usually because they've gone to Notre Dame instead. It's a school that sends a lot of guys North, is what I'm saying.

Payne says some nice things about Mallory($) and vaguely positive things about Michigan but it seems like he's a long way from figuring things out. He says he'll be in for a visit to see what the game atmosphere is like. Henderson is a 6'4", 220 pound guy as a rising junior so he would be a SAM at M.

Meanwhile, 2014 IN WR Dominque Booth did not get his camp offer but feels one is coming($) after a couple of games in his junior season.

Michigan has not thrown out any offers at quarterback yet but after getting a look at MI QB Chance Stewart and OH QB DeShone Kizer one or both is probably going to get the call soon. Tremendouscaught up with Stewart after the camp:

Chance was at Michigan all day Tuesday after earning an offer from Wisconsin last Sunday. Chance felt like he performed really well at Michigan, and even "threw better than I did at Wisconsin".

He was able to talk a little with the Michigan coaches about a potential offer and they told him "they had to evaluate a couple other guys at their camp, and after camp they will figure it out". he went on to say "they said we would be in contact by the end of the week".

Michigan and Wisconsin would be Stewart's top two if Michigan does pull the trigger, and given what Stewart told 247($)…

“I really hope I can pick up that offer because Michigan is a special place to me. They have the best of the best in everything and I feel like Coach Borges and I really communicated well and he helped me become a better player at camp.”

…I don't think Wisconsin would have much of a chance, especially since he says he wants to make a decision as soon as possible.

“(Borges) explained to me that he didn’t want to offer an 2014 quarterbacks before camp, and he doesn’t feel he has ‘that guy’ yet,” Kizer said. “He wants to see a couple of games at the beginning of the season and see if I improve from camp before he makes any moves.”

Either way, if Michigan picks up a four-star-ish guy after Shane Morris that's moving towards the Gutierrez-Henne-Richard embarrassment of riches (that was just enough to get Michigan one starting QB—lottery tickets, man).

A window of Derrick Green hope

“I want to get out there again to speak with the head coach,” Green said. “I’m definitely going to get back there. I want to go up there and see what (Brady Hoke) has to say – what he likes about me, why they want me, and just to get a feel for who I might be playing for one day.”

That visit won't happen until the fall, though, at which point Michigan may be ultrasounding athletic-looking pregnant ladies.

The Distant Future, The Year 2000

Michigan pulled the trigger on what I believe is their first 2015(!) offer when they slyly implied but did not promise 2015 KY RB Damien Harris that he would get an offer in August of his senior year… which is still two years away for the rising sophomore. Obviously this dude is a manchild. Webb:

At 5-11 and 195 pounds, he is powerfully built, but still very fluid; he does yoga to maintain that fluidity. In drills and 7-on-7 action he showed great burst and caught the football very well. One really can't fully appreciate how talented and physical Harris is without the pads on. One look at his film and those things become abundantly clear. Michigan clearly thought so. So too did Fresno State, Ohio, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Illinois and Tennessee.

Damien Harris of Berea (Ky.) Madison Southern was easy to spot among the running back group. Standing in at around 5-10, 200 pounds, the young rising sophomore already has the build of an upperclassman. He showed off plenty of speed and skill to go with that. While it seems incredibly early to offer a 2015 prospects, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the Wolverines pulled the trigger to do just that. He really was that impressive.

I think Webb or Trieu mentioned that Harris was a Michigan fan who geeked out when Mike Hart was one of his position coaches at the camp. I'm guessing we'll see an article from one of the premium sites that can confirm or dis-confirm this in the near future.

Next week's event

That would be the visit($) of FL WR Alvin Bailey, Leon McQuay III teammate and four-star slot receiver. FSU is a considerable favorite; maybe Hoke can shake that assumption.

Comment viewing options

Stribling has good ball skills. I had a friend in High school and he had solid D1A interest, nobody willing to pull the trigger and offer a full ride. He ended up going 1AA and was a freshman All American and 3x 1st team All American and now plays for the Jaguars. Speed isn't everything in Football, yes its important, but 40 speed isn't as important as game speed.

It's early, but I'd be surprised if Holmes doesn't end up part of the 2014 class. Grew up a Michigan fan, said it would be a dream come true to get an offer from them, and even discussed the possibility of a commitment upon a potential offer with his dad before he made it to camp. Now that he has the offer, Michigan is in the driver's seat.

I'd be down with Chance Stewart. We're kind of at a low risk spot for QB recruiting this year, and Stewart looks like he has a lot of upside. If he doesn't pan out, it's not a major problem because we have Shane one year ahead of him, and probably Campbell in 2015. I'd like to get one of them early so they can Shane Morris the 2014 recruiting class. Since Chance loves him some Michigan, he'd be a great offer.

I didn't say no risk and I'm not saying we offer just some dude. But as opposed to 2013 where we absolutely needed a QB and he needed to be good, 2014 has less pressure. Whenever you sign a 5=star top-25 level talent, you ease the need for that position in the next class. That doesn't mean you ignore that spot, and I never suggested that.

Similarly, we'll be in a low risk spot for OL recruiting in 2014. That doesn't mean we won't take any OLs, but it means we can either sign guys who are more boom-or-bust types, or wait on only our top prospects because if our total is lower, we're in good shape.

The year we signed Forcier, we needed a guy who could come in and play right away. Had Morris not signed to early for this class, we would have been in a spot with this class where we needed a top QB.

At no point did I say Morris will certainly be a four year starter immune to injuries. If I knew that, I wouldn't want to offer any QB in 2014. All I said was that we're in a good spot at QB for the 2014 class having Morris in the class before.

After taking no QBs in 2012 and only taking Morris in 2013, I wouldn't exactly call QB a "low pressure position" for 2014, just because depth is bound to become an issue, not to mention Morris (or any QB) is only one injury away. I wouldn't be surprised if they took two in 14.

Maybe I just wasn't clear. I don't think 2014 is a "we don't have to take a QB" type of year. We do. But with Bellomy looking like a solid player (who will be eligible through 2015) and Shane obviously showing plenty of promise, we don't need to recruit a guy who needs to come in and hit the ground running.

So are you saying that every year is exactly the same and the need is never any different from one year to another? If that's how you feel, fine. But my point is that in any given year, the importance of a particular position is more or less than other years.

I didn't say we didn't have to worry about it, and you're putting way to much weight on my Campbell comment that was a side note and nothing more. You like to hang on certain things way too much.

Look - Bolden, RJS, Ringer and Ross haven't played a down at LB yet, but the coaches felt we didn't need to put as much emphasis on that spot in the 2013 class because of them. You can never bank on any player doing anything in college football, but you need to plan around certain things probably happening because you only have so many scholarships to deal with.

You're right - something might happen to where Morris and Bellomy both can't play for us. But something might happen to Stewart too! Does that mean we need to take two QBs? Or three?

Are you arguing that every class matters exactly the same at QB? What if we had a class where we signed 3 QBs? Is the year after than as important as a year after we didn't take a QB at all and the guy we got the year before transfered away?

I think the importance can change from year to year. Do you honestly disagree with that?

If we get Morris, Stewart and Campbell. We're good. There is no team in the country that could ask for more. If they don't all pan out? Oh well. But you're talking about 3 potential Elite 11/4* or Better QBs in 3 years. Nobody has a crystal ball.

If we can sign those 3 in 3 years...it's on us to develop the talent, because it will be there.

Edit...AND State of Michigan H.S. coaches won't have any room to say we don't recruit this state. We could take a recruit from any place in the world if we wanted. Yet, 3 from Michigan in 3 years? Yea. That could be huge for the future and erase all thoughts of a certain former coach and the PERCEPTION he didn't recruit the state.

IMO Fred Jackson coaches at Michigan until JJ graduates then retires. Hoke gets familiar with Hart through the camp circuit and he steps in for Freddy Jack.

Tyrone Wheatley would've been a great choice, but he's risen up the coaching ladder so quickly that it might not be in his best interest by that point. But if he comes to Michigan, best believe Syracuse will grab Hart (who's from upstate NY) from EMU, the same place they got Wheatley.

Both would be tremednous candidates.

I've speculated that Jackson and Mattison will retire in 3-5 years. Hart/Wheatley...and Teryl Austin would be perfect replacements.

I have no doubt we'll be saying the same thing about Hart by the time FJ leaves. Again, we're not talking today.

People praise Denard for being a great ambassador/recruiter while on campus. Hart was even better. Hart was constantly mentioned in recruiting wrap-ups from prospects...Carr always gave Hart the top prospects or at least made sure he got part of the trip.

He's just a great guy. People will forever remember him for running his mouth, but that same talk is what helped get guys here to campus. He's somewhat of a different guy off camera, and definitely different now that he's older and more mature.

I think both would be excellent additions. Hart is going to be one hell of a RB coach one day, he knows the game, he'll be able to recruit, he's got the personality as well. Also, it's not like either (Hart or Wheatley) won't have access to Freddy J whenever they need him.

It would almost be a shame for one of them not to be the next RB coach at Michigan, they're THAT GOOD and they bleed maize and blue.

In the 3rd block quote, it mentions Air Force Ball, with uncertainty as to what it is. To clear that up, "Air Force Football" is basically "Ultimate Frisbee" with a football. Anyone can pass the ball forward or backward, and when you catch the ball you get 3 steps before you have to throw it again, with the goal of eventually throwing it down the field to the end zone. If one team drops the ball or (obviously) throws an interception, the other team gets it.

Right, the amout of people who care is probably very low, but I saw something that I knew and felt like boosting my ego.

We called it Army ball in high school. It was easily one of my favorite games of all time to play. I loved playing it more than american football. It would be too crazy with pads. Concussions would be the least of parents worries. People would die if it was full contact.

Air Force football is where everyone is an eligible receiver and QB. You can throw the ball forward or backwards but after receiving the ball, you can only take 3 steps before you have to stop and find another reciever.

I can't believe no one else had Stribling on their radar. Kid has all the skills to be a huge playmaker in the B1G and he plays both sides of the ball. With what I've seen as far as the evolution of the game, I think it will be key to have larger CBs to handle some of the huge wide receivers that are dominating the game lately. If he ends up outgrowing the position move him the WR. Can't say enough about the potential he has. With his attitude and work ethic I'll be shocked if he doesn't end up doing big things.

He does have a year of growth potentially and if that adds an inch or more then I'd say we'll be looking at in a different position. However, if he stays put I sincerely hope and believe they'll groom him to be CB. I understand it may seem a bit unorthadox to have a larger cb but in the next decade you'll be seeing more and more teams heading that direction. It's much easier to switch to zone coverage to counter faster receivers than it is to grow 3 inches in order to handle huge targets like Michael Floyd was. Whether it ends up being Stribling or they look to someone else to fill the role, I think having it's fast becoming a requirement.

I've heard from one area H.S. BB coach that he is a MSU lean at this point as Izzo is attending nearly all his bball and fball games. I'd love a kid from my (favorite) H.S. to play fball (or bball) for my favorite college team! Hoke needs to show just as much of a presense as Izzo!

It's a lot easier for Izzo to do that being under an hour from Christian High whether he's in EL or at his house in Grand Haven. That said, it would be nice for one of our coaches to be over there as often as possible.

I know Harris is a big-time recruit, but I live in GR and am pretty closely tied to the sports scene. The sense around here is that he likely will stick with basketball. He is a raw athelte, but he isn't very tough. He tends to shy away from contact, and talking to reporters that have covered his games, he doesn't care for taking hits.

When it comes down to it, the smart money is on him playing hoops at the next level.

No way. Considering Lewis could play CB or WR and Stribling could play CB, S or WR, I'm sure we'd still take Fuller (same goes for McQuay). Even before the Stribling commit, there was talk of the Lewis coming in to play WR instead of CB, and if we could pick up another top DB, I bet that would happen (or Stribling, like I said).